Helios stood at the entrance of the Cave of the Dead: Passage, his Keybde in hand and his breathing bored. The air around him pressive, heavy with the curse of the Underworld that sapped his strength with every step. The corridor ahead was dimly lit by eerie, flickering torches that cast long shadows on the jagged walls. It was an unweling path, crawling with Heartless that seemed to grow mgressive the deeper he ventured.

  He steeled himself. With no option to use a Corridor of Darko bypass the passage, Helios had no choice but to fight his way through. The curse g his vitality, but he pushed forward, relying on his arsenal of magid reflexes to stay alive.

  The first wave of Heartless emerged from the shadows: Shadows and Soldiers, their glowing yellow eyes pierg the darkness. Helios raised his Keybde, eling his remaining mana into a quick cast of Firaga, a massive fireball exploding into the cluster of enemies and scattering them. A few Soldiers darted forward, their cwed hands swiping at him.

  With precise movements, Helios parried one of the attacks, his Keybde fshing as it ected with the Heartless’ cws. Using the momentum, he spun around and struother Soldier, its form dissolving into bck mist. But as more Heartless spawned, Helios realized this would be a grueling battle of attrition.

  He spotted one of the white wisps floating nearby, remnants of mana within the Underworld. Striking it with his Keybde released a small burst of magical energy, temporarily revitalizing him. Helios smirked grimly—if he was careful, he could use these wisps to sustain his mana pool ahe Heartless at bay.

  After what felt like ay of fighting, Helios reached the end of the Cave of the Dead: Passage. The entrao the Underdrome loomed before him, its massive stoes carved with ominous symbols. The air around it thrummed with dark energy, a palpable reminder of the arena’s violent history.

  Just as Helios caught his breath, a plume of bck smoke erupted beside him. Hades appeared, his sharp grin as smug as ever.

  “Kid!” Hades excimed, throwing his arms out wide. “About time you made it. What’d you do, take the sic route? Sheesh!”

  Helios wiped sweat from his brow, gring at the god of the Underworld. “You couldn’t have teleported me here and saved me the trouble?”

  Hades burst into ughter, the fmes on his head fring briefly. “Oh, that’s rich! Hey, remind me who came to me for a deal? ht—that would be you! So why would I help you? You think I’m running a charity? Nah, kid, if you ’t cut it down here, maybe it’s time you packed it up a back to the kiddie leagues.”

  Helios rolled his eyes, the sarcasm and theatrics grating on his nerves. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

  Hades snapped his fingers, summoning a clipboard out of thin air. “That’s the spirit! Now, enough time-wasting. Let’s get the Underdrome up and running, shall we?”

  Helios stepped forward, his Keybde appearing in his hand. He poi at the massive gates of the Underdrome, eling his focus into the bde. A beam of bck light shot out from its tip, striking the gates with a resonating force. The sound of unlog meisms echoed through the Underworld, and the gates groaned as they began to open, revealing the dark expanse of the Underdrome within.

  As the gates fully opened, a wave of dark energy radiated outward, pulsing through the Underworld. Hades threw his arms up in triumph, his fmes fring across his entire body in a bzing red inferno.

  “Yes!” Hades yelled, his voice eg with glee. “It’s alive! It’s back, baby!” He took a moment to pose himself, clearing his throat as the fmes receded back to their usual blue. With a smooth grin, he added, “Nice work, kid. You’re a real team pyer.”

  Helios dismissed his Keybde, the weariness from the Underworld curse settling back over him. “The Underdrome’s unlocked. Now keep your end of the bargain.”

  Hades smirked and snapped his fingers. A small, pure white heart surrounded by blue fmes materialized, floating toward Helios. It hovered in front of him for a moment befently settling into his hand. The heart pulsed faintly, its purity undiminished despite its time in the Underworld.

  Helios stared at it for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he g Hades. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

  He turo leave, ready to escape the Underworld and deliver the news of the Underdrome to Sephiroth. But before he could take more than a few steps, Hades called out to him.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think yoing, kid?” Hades asked, his voice ced with mock . “You just opened up my pride and joy, and you’re already hitting the road? What gives?”

  Helios gnced over his shoulder. “I o let a friend know the Underdrome’s open. He’s been itg for a fight, and this is the perfect pce for him.”

  Hades raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. “Oh, really? Well, that’s iing. I gotta say, I like a guy who knows how to keep the a going. Your friend had better be good, though—my crowd doesn’t cheer for amateurs.”

  Helios smirked faintly. “You’ll see. He’s got what it takes to keep your ‘crowd’ eained.”

  Hades chuckled, waving him off. “Fine, fine. Go do your thing, kid. But don’t keep me waiting too long. The Underdrome’s back, and I want this pce hopping with a.”

  Helios nodded and stepped toward the shadows, his Keybde reappearing in his hand. The dark corridor wouldn’t work within the Underworld, but now that the Underdrome en, he could at least find a path back to the surface. As he began his ast, the faint pulse of the heart in his hand reminded him of the steps he o take to secure their safety.

  “Sephiroth better be able to hahe first tour uhe curse. He has to in order to make this worth it,” he muttered under his breath, disappearing into the shadows.